[alex1984]

i purchased a new battery, and still its not charging, is there anything i can check or replace to get it to charge, i have a 1984 1200

 

[detdrbuzzard]

you can have the stator and voltage regulator checked

 

[ronzilla]

... HOWDY ... NEW BATTERIES ONLY HAVE WHAT IS CALLED A SURFACE CHARGE WHICH IS JUST ENOUGH TO GET A FEW STARTS OUT OF IT AND THE MOTORCYCLE CHARGING SYSTEM IS SUPPOSED TO FINISH CHARGING THE BATT. ... JUST BECAUSE THE BATT. IS NEW DOESN'T MEAN IT'S GOOD ... WHAT YOU MIGHT DO IS TAKE THE BATTERY OUT AND PUT IT ON A CHARGER (not a trickle charger) AND TOP OFF THE BATT. ... ALSO IF THE BATT. IS LOW ON ELECTROLITE / WATER THAT WILL HINDER THE CHARGING ... DO YOU HAVE A VOLTAGE DISPLAY ON THE BIKE ??? IF SO IT SHOULD BE READING 13.5 - 14.0 VOLTS ... IF NO VOLT DISPLAY TAKE A MULTIMETER SET IT FOR LOW VOLTAGE AND PLACE THE PROBS ON THE CORRECT + AND NEG. BATT. POSTS WITH MOTOR RUNNING AND THAT WILL TELL YOU IF THE SYSTEM IS CHARGING ... MOST AUTO PARTS STORES WILL CHECK THE VOLTAGE FOR YOU ... ALSO "NEVER NEVER" JUMP START YOU'RE BIKE OFF A CAR THAT IS RUNNING ... TO MANY AMPS AND THAT WILL BLOW RELAYS AND FUSES AND BE CAREFUL JUMPING WITH THE CAR MOTOR OFF ... HAPPY TRAILS ...

 

[lonewolftx]

Alex
Most mc batts require you to add the electrolite from a container in the box. Let it activate for about an hour then charge it as Ron suggested. Just connect a voltt meter across the battery. Should read about 12V. Start the bike and the voltage should go up to about 14V for a while then drop when the battery is re-charged from the starting process.

 

[joe in calif]

Hate to bring bad new but most all 1200 have bad stators. If it isn't gone yet it will be, (The stator basically is the alternator), The motor has to come out to replace it. There is a plug that comes from the stator next to the battery and sometimes that get over heated and melts, you might check that first. I sure hope it's not the stator but on a 1200 It's more likely than not. I had the one on my 85 go out on the way from the Honda after making a deal on my new 92, It cost me about $1,000.00 to have it replaced so I could sell the bike.

 

[oldsmores]

Yeah, my '84 GL1200A is currently in a shop 400 miles from home getting the stator replaced - estimate is $1200. There apparently is an alternative if the problem is the stator. There's an aftermarket external generator kit that goes on the front side of the engine - I think it's about $500. Google it.

 

[BladeRunner]

LTD Stator?

I just read somewhere that the 1985 LTD had a "bigger" stator.
I took that to mean higher capacity; Does anyone know the answer?
I do know while browsing on ebay, there are separate listings for 1200's and the LTD. Also the price is higher for the LTD's.
If it is a higher capacity...would it still fit into a non LTD 1200?

If the answer to both is yes; Why wouldn't you replace the stator
( if you already had to) with the higher capacity unit?

It kinda makes sense to me that it would be more powerful, since there are extra loads on the LTD, like electric fuel injection...
( more power needed) etc??
Anybody know???

 

[BladeRunner]

LTD stator?

After a little digging; I found out the LTD~SE-i puts out 476W.
The standard on other 1200's puts out 360W.
If or when I need to replace mine....I'm going for the higher output! They must be the same as far as fitting..I've posted that question in a couple of places..no replies yet...

 

[detdrbuzzard]

After a little digging; I found out the LTD~SE-i puts out 476W.
The standard on other 1200's puts out 360W.
If or when I need to replace mine....I'm going for the higher output! They must be the same as far as fitting..I've posted that question in a couple of places..no replies yet...

you'll have to modify the housing to use the higher out put stator. the fuel injected wings had the ho stators to power the fuel injection
and are just as prone to falure as the 360w stator. there is a "poorboy" kit to put an external alternator on a 1200 wing ( i've seen them used on 1000 and 1100 wings too ). most can get the kit and an alternator for much less than 500 assuming thet you do the conversion yourself

 

[BladeRunner]

Stator?

detdrbuzzard, thanks for the reply; Can you tell me how/what is required to modify the housing? I can see by the pics of the FI stator that it has two sets of wires & plugs comming out of the case as opposed to the regular stator that has only one plug. I'm assuming the second set goes right to (or powers) the FI circuit. If that is true could that extra plug/wires be used to directly power the coils on a non FI motor?....

 

[Joe 50+]

Easy to check

The charging system is very easy to check but could be difficult top fix. At the rear of the left side of the engine there will be 3 wires that lead to a plug beside the battery. Unplug that and with a ohm meter there should be continuity between the three terminals from the engine but not to ground. If this is as above your stator is OK. Then your problem will either be the rectifier under the left side of the false tank or simply a bad connection. More often the stator is bad and the engine must come out to replace it. I just changed mine 2 weeks ago. Good luck

 

[joseph]

Battery discharge

I'd like to add to this discussion. I have a 2000 1500SE. I have a battery monitor, add on. I replaced the battery a year ago. On several occassions the battery died while I was riding, leading to a jump.
I watched the volt monitor flash as though the battery was being drained as it idled? I used a tender before starting it in order to ensure a strong battery.

 

[bstar]

One simple time proven piece of advice about electrics,check the simple things first, the connections.How many times over the years I've taken main connections apart cleaned them up,put vasiline on them or dielectric grease and fixed a problem.Doing this first at least eliminates such a simple problem.

-Robert-